1). Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the removal of floor covering, such as, e.g., carpet or vinyl, adhesively secured to a substrate of a floor or stairs and more particularly to a rugged, easy to use tool for removing the floor covering.
2). Related Art
Floor covering, such as carpet or vinyl, is often glued to a substrate such as wood or concrete. The removal of floor covering and particularly carpet adhesively secured to a substrate has been addressed in a number of U.S. Patents. Various devices or tools have been disclosed and are in use today. These devices tend to be bulky, expensive and often take considerable time to set up for operation.
The following U.S. Patents disclose various devices for removal of adhesively secured floor covering: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,332,371, 4,394,052, 4,533,118, 4,560,146, 4,906,323, 4,948,451, 5,348,608, 5,387,308, 5,454,899, 5,456,794, 5,505,433, 5,720,844, and 6,004,426.
At least two of these patents disclose a carpet removal device where the removed carpet is rolled up on a spool. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,052 (""052 patent) the carpet removal device includes a blade that is pulled forward under the carpet being removed to wedge beneath the carpet to separate the carpet from the floor. In one embodiment, the winding of the carpet up on the spool causes the device to move forward to wedge the knife beneath the carpet. A free end of the carpet is attached to the spool. (The method of attaching is not disclosed). The spool has four longitudinal bars or spool crossbars on which the carpet is wound.
The device of the ""052 patent is relatively heavy, cumbersome and expensive. Also it has been found that the blade of carpet removal devices digs into the substrate and gets stuck in wooden substrate. Additionally, these blades do not stay sharp in use. A further problem with bulky devices, such as the one disclosed in the ""052 patent is that they require a large area in which to maneuver. Also, these devices are not useful in removing floor covering from stairs or confined areas.
Other devices employing a spool are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,426 (""426 patent). A blade is not used in the devices of the ""426 patent and the carpet is pulled up by being wound on a rotating spool. The end or edge of the carpet to be removed is attached to the spool. In the preferred embodiment the means for attaching the edge of the carpet to the spool member is a plurality of tooth members extending outwardly from the spool member that are laterally aligned between the ends of the spool member to form a row of tooth members. Other means for attaching the edge of the carpet to the spool member are disclosed. The other means for attaching include a relatively strong tape, clips attached to the spool member, and tapped holes in the outer surface of the spool member through which sharpened screws can be cooperatively inserted after penetrating a portion of the carpet, with the screws holding the floor covering to the spool member.
The preferred means for attachment of the ""426 patent has many problems in practice. A first problem is one of safety in that the sharp and pointed teeth can tear up the hands of the user. Additionally, it has been found that the teeth break off because of the torque that occurs in pulling up the carpet while rolling it on the spool.
The problems of the prior devices for removing floor covering, such as carpet or vinyl, adhesively secured to a floor or stairs are overcome by the simple tool of the invention. The tool consists of a cylindrical roller formed from two parts that are hinged together and that have an opening or slit through which the end of the floor covering is inserted. A member attached to the inside surface of one part pushes the floor covering against a similar member attached to the inside surface of the other part or against the inside surface of the other part to hold the floor covering in place while rotating the roller to take up the floor covering.
The roller is made of relatively heavy material to give the cylindrical body of the tool rigidity and to provide a secure grip on the end of the floor covering in the initial stages of pulling up the floor covering and rolling it on the roller.
The roller may be manually rotated or rotated by a motor. For rotation, a coupler extends from one or both ends of the cylindrical portion of the roller. The coupler has a shaped hole for receiving a correspondingly shaped shaft of the drive mechanism. For manual rotation, a lever arm has a shaft extending at a right angle at one end to engage the coupler of the roller. Advantageously, the same end of the lever arm includes a ratcheting mechanism for ratcheting the arm back into a position to further rotate the roller of the tool.
Alternatively, a motor drive with an adaptor at the end of the motor shaft to accommodate the shape and depth of the coupler at the end of the roller may be employed. The motor has a carriage that is placed under the motor to carry the motor as it moves while rotating the roller of the tool. The carriage is attachable to either side of the motor for rotation of the tool in either direction.
Objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawing.